366 research outputs found

    Problems of Distance, Communications, and Authority: How Charles V and Philip II Ruled the Global Spanish Empire

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    This essay explains how the Spanish (or Castilian) crown during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries managed its worldwide empire. It emphasizes the contribution of, and the tension between, the crown’s two main strategies: political decentralization – or delegation – and imperial centralization. To begin, it contextualizes the issue by exploring the situation at the time and explains how the problems of distance and communication were closely linked. Secondly, drawing on the comments of both contemporary observers and modern historians, this paper examines the approaches used by the Spanish kings in ensuring the optimum reliability of their intelligence networks within Europe and with America. Thirdly, the issue of decentralization is approached. The essay (1) outlines the context for Spanish imperial delegation and how Charles V and Philip II differed in this regard and (2) gives several representative examples of the use of delegation in Europe and abroad. Using the American colonies as a case study, it (3) explores the centralized, peninsula-based forms of administrative delegation (i.e. councils and juntas) and (4) addresses the decentralized, colonial types of delegated government; specifically, viceroys and audiencias. Lastly, the paper explores the imperial strategy of centralization by which the kings of Spain unified their global empire. It argues that, ultimately, these monarchs used a combination of various means to ensure that they received a steady flow of reliable information. They also utilized centralized authority and decentralized administration to ensure that their provinces worldwide were governed efficiently

    Excavations at the Gilligan's Island shelters (5FN1592), Fort Carson Military Reservation (FCMR), Fremont County, Colorado

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    Department Head: Kathleen A. Galvin.2008 Summer.Includes bibliographical references (pages 379-399).This thesis examines the surface and subsurface archaeological work undertaken in 2002 at the Gilligan's Island site (5FN1592), located at the base of the Rocky Mountains on the Fort Carson Military Reservation, eastern Fremont County, Colorado. Permission was granted by Fort Carson to conduct an excavation at this site in order to determine its potential to produce significant subsurface occupational remains. Excavations focused on two connecting rock shelters at the base of a prominent cliff face. Four interconnecting grid units were positioned in a trench-like fashion through the central midline of each shelter proper. Deposition of excavated units ranges up to 1.3 meters in depth. These trenches exposed deeply stratified prehistoric materials including multiple intact features. The radiocarbon data (based on conventional uncalibrated dates) identified three prehistoric cultural components: Middle Archaic period (ca. 4240-3010 B.P.), Late Archaic period (ca. 2230-1880 B.P.), and Developmental period (ca. 1390- 1070 B.P.). A historic component is also evident and is associated with probable looting activities in the shelters.Volume I. Primary report -- Volume II. Database appendixes (zip file)

    Characteristics of a Nonvolatile SRAM Memory Cell Utilizing a Ferroelectric Transistor

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    The SRAM cell circuit is a standard for volatile data storage. When utilizing one or more ferroelectric transistors, the hysteresis characteristics give unique properties to the SRAM circuit, providing for investigation into the development of a nonvolatile memory cell. This paper discusses various formations of the SRAM circuit, using ferroelectric transistors, n-channel and p-channel MOSFETs, and resistive loads. With varied source and supply voltages, the effects on the timing and retention characteristics are investigated, including retention times of up to 24 hours

    Hip Strength and Core Endurance in Female Adolescent Runners With and Without Knee Pain

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    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most prevalent orthopedic conditions affecting young athletes today. Epidemiological studies have reported PFPS to be the most common injury seen in runners. Deficits in hip strength have been identified in runners with PFPS, but core endurance in relation to knee pain has not been well documented. The primary purpose of our study was to investigate differences in hip strength and core endurance between female, adolescent runners with PFPS and their age matched controls. The secondary purpose of our research was to examine any correlations between hip strength and core endurance in our participants. METHODS: A cross sectional design was used. We recorded pain, Kujala score, hip strength and endurance and core endurance in 34 adolescent female cross country runners. Cases with PFPS were defined as young female runners with a minimum three month history of anterior knee pain of insidious onset and had a most severe knee pain rated 3/10 or higher. Control subjects had no history of knee surgery, traumatic knee injuries, patellar instability, or neurologic conditions. Between-group differences and correlations were calculated between age-matched cases and controls using t-tests. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine associations for selected measures. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between cases and controls for hip strength and endurance. However, there was a large percent difference between cases and controls in selected core endurance measures. It was found that all hip strength and core endurance results had low correlations ( \u3c 0.28). Among cases with PFPS, a strong and significant, negative correlation was found between subjects’ reported worst pain and Kujala score (r=-0.79, p\u3c0.05)). A non-significant moderate negative correlation between side plank endurance and usual pain was found (r=-0.49). CONCLUSION: There were minimal differences noted in isometric strength tests between groups. There was a clear difference noted with endurance testing between groups. However, this difference was not found to be significant, which could be due to low number of subjects with PFPS. The differences in endurance between athletes with PFPS and their pain free counterparts merit further investigation and research. Of note, it was found that strength and endurance had a minimal correlation; this indicates that clinically, endurance cannot be inferred from isometric strength testing. Therefore, we recommend clinicians perform specific measures of endurance when attempting to identify impairments in runners with PFPS

    Mathematical Models of the Common-Source and Common-Gate Amplifiers using a Metal-Ferroelectric-Semiconductor Field effect Transistor

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    Mathematical models of the common-source and common-gate amplifiers using metal-ferroelectric- semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are developed in this paper. The models are compared against data collected with MOSFETs of varying channel lengths and widths, and circuit parameters such as biasing conditions are varied as well. Considerations are made for the capacitance formed by the ferroelectric layer present between the gate and substrate of the transistors. Comparisons between the modeled and measured data are presented in depth as well as differences and advantages as compared to the performance of each circuit using a MOSFET

    Integration of Crop-Livestock Systems: An Opportunity toProtect Grasslands from Conversion to Cropland in the US Great Plains

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    The Great Plains is a mixture of cropland and grassland mainly used for agricultural purposes, with grasslands under continual threat of conversion to cropland. Agriculturists are advocating for the integration of crop-livestock systems (ICLS) to recouple nutrient cycles, improve biodiversity, and increase resilience of agricultural operations. We address the benefits of ICLS in the Great Plains, contending that focus on improving soil health and financial stability of agricultural operations should reduce the conversion of grasslands to cropland. Using US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture survey data from the 1925 to 2017 category “cropland used only for pasture or grazing,” which represents land that had been cropped but converted to annual/perennial pasture and grazed, we showcase that the number of farms and the land area in this category is a reasonable proxy of ICLS. As expected, ICLS dramatically decreased in the entire United States from 1925 to 1945, but from 1945 to 2002 in the Great Plains ICLS remained relatively constant, providing evidence of sustained crop-livestock integration. Consistent high numbers of beef cows during this period and the wide availability of forages and crop residues for ruminants facilitated opportunities for producers to use ICLS on their individual operations (within farm) or among operations where row crop farmers and forage-based producers integrated beef cattle use across the landscape (among farms). This integration, however, was decoupled from 2006 to 2013, a period of high grain prices. As a result, economic value of grasslands was decreased and conversion to cropland was increased. Thus, conservation efforts in the Great Plains for grasslands should focus on keeping grasslands intact for provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services by emphasizing incorporation of ICLS within and among farms to reduce the risk of converting grassland to cropland

    Integration of Crop-Livestock Systems: An Opportunity to Protect Grasslands from Conversion to Cropland in the US Great Plains

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    The Great Plains is a mixture of cropland and grassland mainly used for agricultural purposes, with grasslands under continual threat of conversion to cropland. Agriculturists are advocating for the integration of crop-livestock systems (ICLS) to recouple nutrient cycles, improve biodiversity, and increase resilience of agricultural operations. We address the benefits of ICLS in the Great Plains, contending that focus on improving soil health and financial stability of agricultural operations should reduce the conversion of grasslands to cropland. Using US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture survey data from the 1925−2017 category “cropland used only for pasture or grazing,” which represents land that had been cropped but converted to annual/perennial pasture and grazed, we showcase that the number of farms and the land area in this category is a reasonable proxy of ICLS. As expected, ICLS dramatically decreased in the entire United States from 1925 to 1945, but from 1945 to 2002 in the Great Plains ICLS remained relatively constant, providing evidence of sustained crop-livestock integration. Consistent high numbers of beef cows during this period and the wide availability of forages and crop residues for ruminants facilitated opportunities for producers to use ICLS on their individual operations (within farm) or among operations where row crop farmers and forage-based producers integrated beef cattle use across the landscape (among farms). This integration, however, was decoupled from 2006 to 2013, a period of high grain prices. As a result, economic value of grasslands was decreased and conversion to cropland was increased. Thus, conservation efforts in the Great Plains for grasslands should focus on keeping grasslands intact for provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services by emphasizing incorporation of ICLS within and among farms to reduce the risk of converting grassland to cropland

    Climate change sentiment on Twitter: An unsolicited public opinion poll

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    The consequences of anthropogenic climate change are extensively debated through scientific papers, newspaper articles, and blogs. Newspaper articles may lack accuracy, while the severity of findings in scientific papers may be too opaque for the public to understand. Social media, however, is a forum where individuals of diverse backgrounds can share their thoughts and opinions. As consumption shifts from old media to new, Twitter has become a valuable resource for analyzing current events and headline news. In this research, we analyze tweets containing the word climate collected between September 2008 and July 2014. Through use of a previously developed sentiment measurement tool called the Hedonometer, we determine how collective sentiment varies in response to climate change news, events, and natural disasters. We find that natural disasters, climate bills, and oildrilling can contribute to a decrease in happiness while climate rallies, a book release, and a green ideas contest can contribute to an increase in happiness. Words uncovered by our analysis suggest that responses to climate change news are predominately from climate change activists rather than climate change deniers, indicating that Twitter is a valuable resource for the spread of climate change awareness

    I-V Characteristics of a Static Random Access Memory Cell Utilizing Ferroelectric Transistors

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    I-V characteristics for FeFET different than that of MOSFET Ferroelectric layer features hysteresis trend whereas MOSFET behaves same for both increasing and decreasing VGS FeFET I-V characteristics doesn't show dependence on VDS A Transistor with different channel length and width as well as various resistance and input voltages give different results As resistance values increased, the magnitude of the drain current decreased
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